Cordarrelle Patterson’s first month in the NFL ends with special teams honors

Posted by Josh Alper on October 3, 2013, 11:35 AM EDT

Getty Images

September wasn’t the best month for the Vikings as a team as they went 1-3, but there were some bright spots.

First-round pick Cordarrelle Patterson’s work as a kick returner is one of them and the NFL thought enough of the rookie’s work to make him the NFC special teams player of the month.

Patterson leads the league with a 33.8-yard average on kickoff returns and returned one kick 105 yards for a touchdown against the Bears earlier this season. Given his penchant for returning kicks that go well into the end zone, Patterson could wind up with an even longer return if he finds the right creases.

The Vikings have been less successful getting Patterson involved on offense. He’s caught six passes for 82 yards through the first four games and played only a handful of offensive snaps, leading coach Leslie Frazier to say recently that he wants to see more of Patterson on offense.

He’s going to be a superstar. It’s going to take him a while to get acclimated to the NFL and he probably needs to work on his run blocking, but he will be a gamebreaker when he’s ready. Get in on the ground floor of this phenomenon.

It’s inconceivable that we are 4 weeks into the season and Patterson is still not a major piece of the offense. I just don’t understand why Frazier is not making more of an effort to get the ball in Patterson’s hands. The kid is electrice. Just give him the dang ball and let’s see what he can do with it!!!!!!!

When he gets the ball he is patient and gets his head up quickly, looking for a spot to exploit. Kinda runs like a RB. Doesn’t go down easy either. Look for him to break one of these screens in the coming weeks.